KAS Australia and the Pacific is pleased to present its Annual Report 2021, showcasing key activities and publications in what proved to be yet another unprecedented year. In addition to the ongoing pandemic and related border closures, KAS Australia has seen the departure of its inaugural Director, Dr Beatrice Gorawantschy, and arrival of its new Director, Bertil Wenger.

In our 5th year as an established Regional Programme, we have hosted and contributed to a number of events in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific – both in digital and in hybrid form, with the aim to foster the relations between Germany on the one hand and Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific region on the other.

The events ranged from political dialogue programmes to theme-specific seminars on the topics with which we are concerned: foreign and security policy, cybersecurity, counter-terrorism, rule of law, energy and development policy. Highlights include our annual Counter-Terrorism Dialogue with Australia, held in its 7th iteration in cooperation with the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), and our annual Energy Dialogue with Australia, held in its 4th iteration in cooperation with the European Cluster for Climate, Energy and Resource Security (EUCERS).

We hope you find the Annual Report insightful, and look forward to continuing our cooperation with local and regional partners this year.